Dwell On Things Above

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how I so easily dwell on earthly things, instead of things above. I ask myself what I need to do. It is hard to be in the world, but not think, act, and talk like the world. I pray to God and think about Him often throughout the day, but I catch myself quickly going back to the earthly things. What I mean by this is that I easily think selfish thoughts: how I can be happy, how I can get more “me” time, how I can make the most money, and so on. These thoughts are on the temporary instead of the eternal. I’m seeking the wrong things as my treasure. I’m valuing things that don’t matter. They cause me to lose sight of the big picture. And they lead me astray from the things of God.

For this post, I’d like to focus our attention on Colossians 3:1-17. From this passage we are told to set our focus on things above and then we are given instructions on how to do that. The main thing we need to remember is that we can’t do this by our own strength. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. With that, let’s dig in.

Set Your Heart and Mind on Things Above

In the first part of this passage we are called to set our hearts and minds on things above. Colossians 3:1-4 says: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” When we have made Jesus Lord of our lives, we have been raised with Christ. Why then would we not set our hearts and minds on things above, where He is seated on His throne? What do we have on this earth that is better than Jesus? NOTHING! And without Christ, we are nothing.

It’s interesting that this passage includes both the heart and mind. I believe it is simply saying that our hearts and minds should be set on the same things. All of who we are should be set on Christ, not on this world. God wants all of us, not just parts of us and leaving some where we can do what we want with. When both our hearts and minds are set on things above, we are thankful and hopeful. We are thankful because of the sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross for our sins. And we are hopeful because of Jesus’ resurrection that defeated death and made it possible for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to experience eternal life. Our thankfulness and hopefulness, in turn, motivate and inspire us to share this extraordinary news with everyone around us.

But how do we get our hearts and minds set on things above?

Put to Death…

To assist us in setting all of who we are on things above, we need to put to death everything that distracts us from God. Colossians 3:5-8 gives us some specifics. It says: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” That’s a big list. I think we can pick at least one thing out of this list that we need to work on destroying from our lives. Like I said earlier, it’s a challenge to live in the world, but not live like the world. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to help us because I don’t think we’d ever be able to put to death and rid ourselves of all these things on our own.

Clothe Yourselves with…

Colossians 3:12-14 provides us with another way to help us focus on things above: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Clothe yourselves. How do we clothe ourselves with these virtues? Let’s look at Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Do you see the same virtues in this passage as in Colossians? To clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, we must clothe ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Another way to say this is to live by the Spirit as it says in Galatians 5.

Yes, we can seek to live with more compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience but only with the help of the Spirit will we completely put to death the things that belong to our earthly nature. And this then will draw us to set our hearts and minds on things above more and more.

Let the Peace of Christ Rule in Your Hearts

Wrapping this passage up, Colossians 3:15-17 instructs us with a third way to direct our hearts and minds to things above: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We can pull two more applications from this passage. We are to seek the peace of Christ, letting it rule in our hearts, and be thankful. Christ brings us peace, knowing what God the Father did through Him on the cross and in His resurrection. This should give us grateful hearts and lead us to thank God for all things.

Going back to our question in the beginning of this post: How do we set our hearts and minds on things above? The answer is: put to death the things of our earthly nature, clothe ourselves with the virtues listed in Colossians 3:12-14, let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, and be thankful. To set our hearts and minds on things above is to set our hearts and minds on Christ. And we cannot do any of this without the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus sent us His Spirit—to continually guide and point us to Christ.

I encourage you to take some time in prayer, asking God to reveal the things that are keeping you from setting your heart and mind on things above. And ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and direct your gaze to Christ.